It is easy to understand why there is a lot of hype and chatter when a hardfork is about to drop on the blockchain. As of right now HF26 (I think) is set to drop tomorrow 10/11/2022. If you have been using Hive for 4+ years like me, you have certainly seen your fair share of hardforks. Including what some might consider the grand daddy of them all when Hive was concieved.
I was driving into work this morning trying to figure out what I was going to write about today. Then I sat for close to an hour with my computer being virtually unusable as the latest Windows 11 service update was installed. I occurred to me, that my post content for today was pretty much staring me right in the face.
Like I said, if you have been using Hive for a decent amount of time, this likely isn't your first hardfork. It's easy to understand why there can be a lot of feels associated with hardforks when they are released.
We have seen hardforks that change the payout or curation rewards, we have seen hardforks that brought the chain down for more than a day, and we have seen hardforks that gave birth to a whole new chain (Hive).
If it helps, just think of a hardfork as an update for the blockchain. Just like Windows update, sometimes it fixes something that is broken, sometimes it adds a new feature, and others, it brings about some more drastic changes.
And just like Windows updates, sometimes hardforks don't always go as expected.
Don't worry though, we haven't seen one of those in quite some time. For the most part on Hive, hardforks have been relatively seamless. We have a group of witnesses who are active and dedicated to the health and well being of the blockchain. You can have absolute trust that they are going to do everything possible to ensure this goes smoothly.
But what if it doesn't?
Sometimes things happen, sometimes there are unexpected consequences, sometimes things just go to hell.
The hardfork that is being pushed tomorrow is one of the biggest I think we have seen in a bit. While I don't expect much to go wrong, it is safe to assume that something could. You just never know. Here are a couple tips to help you out if that does happen.
- Be patient. The witnesses have a vested interest in the blockchain, they aren't going to just let it fall to pieces. If something is wrong, you have to trust that they are working on fixing it.
- Be patient. Like I said, you have to trust they are working on it. In cases where the "shit hits the fan", communication isn't always the best, trust me I know. Do you want them to spend their time fixing it, or waste time letting us know they are fixing it? Again, it isn't like they are just going to allow it to fail. I understand wanting to know what is going on, but the more patient we are, the quicker things can get back to normal.
- Use a site like HackMD to type up posts ahead of time or off chain. This is actually a good tool to use even when we aren't in the middle of a hardfork. Sometimes things happen and posts get lost. Using HackMD or Google Docs is a great way to ensure it is saved somewhere.
- Be mindful of what is happening with the chain before you publish. Jumping in one of the active Hive Discord servers is a good idea to see if things are working properly. The community will let you know. I remember a hardfork where I had just published a post and then the chain went down for over a day. By the time it came back up, my post was still there, but the moment had passed and barely any eyes got on it. If you are still building your follower base, when you publish can have a big impact on lots of looks or only a few looks.
- Be patient. I know it sucks, but don't be that person crying or complaining in Discord that the chain is down. Additionally, don't flood your favorite community leaders with constant messages that their front end is down. It is more likely the chain is still being worked on. While some of the community leaders are also witnesses, they simply run the software on their servers, they don't actually do the coding (though some of them do). For example, flooding @khaleelkazi in Discord about Leo not working isn't going to make one bit of difference if the whole chain is down.
The future looks bright!
There are a lot of cool things coming in this hardfork that we should pay attention to. If you are new to all of this and you find yourself having all the feels, I think the one you should settle on is excitement.
The new RC system that is being implemented could be a pretty big game changer for the blockchain. If I recall correctly there are also a couple other base layer things that might not make a difference now, but they will pave the way for more functionality in the future.
The amount of development that is happening on Hive is nothing short of amazing. In the middle of a bear market even. It feels like the whole crypto space has kicked things into overdrive when it comes to "build mode". As many FUD stories as I am seeing out there, I am seeing just as many about individuals and businesses that are building on or investing in blockchain.
It is exciting to see.
Is this your first hardfork? Are you nervous? Excited? Did this post clear things up for you or help settle your mind? Let's talk about it in the comments!
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